Boost to open government

Information released in response to FOI requests to be published online

All information released by the Scottish Government in response to FOI requests will be published online from 3 July, in line with a commitment to open and transparent government.

Information released in response to FOI requests will be made available on https://beta.gov.scot as requests are answered, allowing anyone to search and access this information.

Parliamentary Business Minister Joe FitzPatrick said:

“We are proud of our record on openness and transparency, with the most far-reaching freedom of information laws in the UK and international recognition for our commitment to citizen participation. We are committed to improving our FOI response times despite the steady increase in requests.

“We are always looking for opportunities to release more information proactively. We have listened to some of the comments in response to our recent FOI performance and, as part of improving this, we will ensure that information released under FOI legislation is published online so it is publicly available.

“Publishing information released in response to FOI requests will give people greater access to our information – making it easier for anyone interested in FOI and the data we release to find it on our website.”

Background

From 3 July, 2017 information released by the Scottish Government in response to FOI requests will be published in the publications section of https://beta.gov.scot

In line with data protection legislation, any personal information in the FOI request or response will be removed before publication.

FOI requests have been steadily increasing since legislation came into force in 2005. The Scottish Government received over 2100 requests in 2016 and 777 in the first quarter of 2017.